


The tale of Honu

by zabchan



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Kid Fic, Next Generation, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23070430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zabchan/pseuds/zabchan
Summary: There are three stories that the Waialiki family hold sacred, one for each member of Honu’s family.
Relationships: Maui & Moana Waialiki, Maui/Moana Waialiki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60





	The tale of Honu

**Author's Note:**

> I started this as a mental challenge to myself on writing a ship thru the eyes of its children and fell in love with the character for his own sake.

There are three stories that the Waialiki family hold sacred, one for each member of Honu’s family.

His dad’s favorite, either to hear or to tell, is how the legendary chief Moana sailed across the great ocean to deliver Maui, demigod of the wind and sea, and restored the heart of Te Fiti. Dad gets super into the telling, especially during the fight scenes, waving a branch around, bowling over imaginary kakamora or fending off the deadly fireballs of Te Ka with a near-perfect imitation of a hawk’s screech. His dad’s rendition of the greedy crab tamatoa singing to his hoard of shiny objects is a crowd favorite, the song stuck in Honu’s brain for weeks afterwards. It's a long story, and Dad doesn't break it out unless it's a special occasion or he wants to show off...which is pretty much all the time, but he keeps recitals limited to feast days at least. Mom tells it ok, but she tends to focus on the ocean and how it came to choose Moana, citing the great chief’s compassion for a baby turtle being harassed by crows, and how showing kindness to even the smallest among us can lead to big things. Mom is always trying to put extra lessons into stories, while his dad is all about the big magical showdowns and explosions.

It’s best when Honu’s parents tell it together, with a practiced ease of cooperation and easy banter. Its hilarious when Mom joins in mid-telling and voices Maui, forcing Dad to continue the story from Moana’s perspective. But their best rendition is when Mom handles the narration, describing the dark, traitorous wonders of Lalotai, the chaotic, bizarre and deadly ships of the kakamora, the glorious blooming rebirth of Te Fiti, using her arms and hands to carve the images in the air and make the words come alive. Dad is the best at doing all the voices and sound effects, by far. He also makes up songs at each major story point; and here is often when Mom joins in, her rich alto twining through his father’s warm baritone like a canoe through the waves.

Aside from his favorite epic, Dad delights in recounting all the Maui stories, from ‘How Maui Stole Fire’, told in the depths of stormy season, when the gift is the most appreciated as the village huddles in their fales, to ‘The Invention of the Coconut’ at harvest, when he can be surrounded by heaps and heaps of the patron crop, punctuating the tale with sounds of cracking the husks in his massive fists.

Honu’s mom likes to tell Maui stories too, but with a twist. She always prefers the ones that reveal some aspect of Maui’s humanity: his generosity, his bravery, the heart among the heroics. So her favorite story is how the great Maui humbled himself for the love of a human woman, how he gave up his hook and his immortal life to be with her and her people, to savor each day as it came and love like there was no tomorrow. Honu pretended he was bored by the story when he was younger, but secretly he wished that someday he could find someone to love as much as that. to give up so much of yourself but still consider it a price well paid; wow.

(He thinks he might see it sometimes in the way his dad looks at his mom, or the way his mom smiles at the whole village when they return from sailing lessons. Whether it be for love, for family, or community the thought that something or someone is worth giving up eternity for, that’s the real lesson Honu learns.)

And then there was Honu’s favorite story; not least because it was about himself. When Honu was little he’d ask for this story nearly three times a day, sometimes right after having been told it the first time.

The day Honu was born, his father was out hunting sea turtle, whose meat and blood are rich in iron and perfect food for pregnant women and new mothers. As the village champion was aiming the killing blow he thought he heard his wife’s cries of labor from the shore. It made him jerk and miss his shot. The spear flew from his hand and scratched a long mark across the turtle’s shell. Honu’s father raced back to the island, swimming the last ten feet himself, and bursting into the birthing hut dripping wet in his clothes. (Which is a terribly rude thing to do in the presence of the chief; some might have demanded his head for the insult, but of course grandfather would never be so petty.) He arrived in time to hold his wife’s hand during the final push to birth his firstborn son. They gave the child the name of Honu, meaning turtle, in honor of how his first act in this world was to save the sea creature. It is said that the turtle saved that day grew to an enormous size and became a legend on the island, identified by the long scratch mark on its shell. It is also said that when it appears, it gifts the island with extra hauls of deepwater fish, tuna and marlin and sturgeon, (all Honu’s favorites), and chases away all the stinging jellyfish (Honu’s decidedly least favorite).

The blotchy pink scar on his leg twitches when Honu hears that part of the story, and he cannot help but wince at the memory of the week-long fever, nausea and burning agony that resulted from half a second’s brush from the purple tendrils.

The turtle story is Grandpa’s favorite too, and while Honu loves his parents dearly, Grandpa Tui is special. Grandpa Tui tells him stories of their ancestors; of the meanings in the patterns on his skin, on how this uncle invented a new way to catch fish, or how that great-grandmother painted the tapas in their fale. Tui teaches Honu the pride of the craftsman, of a job well done, of carving a lasting legacy with your own two hands.

Grandma Sina teaches Honu how to be quiet. Not in a bad “be quiet I’m trying to sleep” way, but the patient, kind, listening way. To still your heart and mind and be open to the sound of the breeze, of the growing things, the earth beneath your fingers. How, when you are quiet, other people tend to talk more to fill the silence and often let something slip they didn't mean to. And when they do you smile, and stay calm, and ponder these things and in the silence find wisdom. Wisdom, hiding in plain view, hiding in the quiet places and the attentive ear.

So, unlike his loud and boisterous father or his chatty instructive mother, he grows up to be a thoughtful, quiet young man who smiles and loves to listen. He tends not to speak until all else is quiet, and on Motunui that is rarer than most people give credit for. That isn't to say he doesn't love people and being around them. In fact, Honu tends to feel drained and empty when he’s separated too long from people, but he’s happiest when he can be in a big crowd and not say anything, just listen to their chatter and stories while he works on yet another project, be it whittling or weaving or mending nets.

He is learning boatbuilding from his father and from studying the canoes of his ancestors. He learns to sail and wayfind as a matter of course, the son of two master wayfinders on the island of wayfinders descended from- you get the idea. But mostly what this inspires in him how to make better, stronger boats with more decoration and more design and functionality. He learns of different types of tree and their virtues, of the nature of waves and how they crash over a deck and just how much water it takes to sink a canoe...and in the process learns a deep and profound respect of the sea and her moods. When all you have between you and the deepest, darkest fathoms is a bundle of sticks held together by some tar and rope; you learn how much you need to be able to trust and rely on your boatmaker. His people have boats that have lasted over a thousand years. His dream is to make one to last a thousand more. One he can proudly sail a family of his own on one day, discovering new islands, new treasures and new materials to fuel his endless list of projects.

Honu is a craftsman. He speaks more through his work than his words. Honu loves his people’s way of decorating even the most mundane objects, the ones where you wouldn't think decorations would matter, like oars & fishhooks. His hands are always itching to carve or paint or inlay something, and it's rare to see him without a tool in hand. Fortunately he inherits some decent artistic talent from his dad, although his dad's sense of taste is more questionable. The story of how, when his dad met his mom, Dad had been working on a giant statue of himself in a cave covered in hand carved pictures (also of himself) is another family favorite, albeit not in the top 3.

Then there came the day when Honu learned not only were the stories all true...his mom and dad not only shared names with the two famous heroes...they *were* the heroes of the legends. 

And they weren't the only things from the stories that turned out to be true, as Honu was soon to learn...quite violently.

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this on my art blog a long time ago but realised I hadn't posted it anywhere else. I recently made moana and Maui a family in the sims and remembered I had this guy floating around in the back of my brain to play with.
> 
> Coincidentally i got invited to a new dnd campaign and got the wild idea to roll Honu as a player character XD so hopefully more adventures incoming! I have lots of plans for him it's just a matter of getting it all down in type.
> 
> For anyone interested I have character sketches for Honu on zabchansketchbook on tumblr. Especially check it out if you like the moaui ship ;3


End file.
